Russian SSBN patrols tripled from 2007 to 2008. . By Hans M. Kristensen Russia sent more nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines on patrol in 2008 than in any other year since 1998, according to information obtained by Federation of American Scientists from U.S. naval intelligence. The information shows that Russian missile submarine conducted ten patrols in […]
B83 thermonuclear bombs are offloaded from a C-17 aircraft for storage in preparation for meeting the limit of the Moscow Treaty three and a half years early. . By Hans M. Kristensen The United States has reduced its deployed strategic warheads to the maximum number allowed under 2002 Moscow Treaty, three and a half years […]
Chinese submarines conducted 12 patrols in 2008, the highest ever. . By Hans M. Kristensen Chinese attack submarines sailed on more patrols in 2008 than ever before, according to information obtained by Federation of American Scientists from U.S. naval intelligence. The information, which was declassified by U.S. naval intelligence in response to a Freedom of […]
. By Hans M. Kristensen A Chinese government defense white paper for the first time describes how China’s nuclear forces would gradually be brought to increased levels of alert during a crisis to deter an adversary and retaliate to nuclear attack. The paper describes a growing portfolio of deterrence and counterattack capabilities with an ambitious […]
The second report from the Schlesinger Task Force goes beyond fixing nuclear problems to promoting new nuclear weapons. By Hans M. Kristensen For nuclear weapon advocates, the Minot incident in August 2007, where the Air Force lost track of six nuclear-armed cruise missiles for 36 hours, was a gift sent from heaven. No other event […]
In the closing days of the Bush administration, we see nuclear advocates laying down markers for the debate about nuclear weapons that is expected early in Senator Obama’s presidency. In a recent speech at Carnegie and in an article in Foreign Affairs, Robert Gates, slated to stay on as Secretary of Defense, has called for […]
The interim report from the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States appears to reinstate Russia as a center for U.S. nuclear thinking. By Hans M. Kristensen The Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States has published an interim report that buys into many of the arguments of the […]
Mystery missile: widely reported as a future sea-launched ballistic missile, is the Shourya launch in November 2008 (right) a land-based mobile missile (left), a silo-based missile, or a hybrid? Images: DRDO . By Hans M. Kristensen A decade after India officially crossed the nuclear threshold and announced its intention to develop a Triad of nuclear […]
By Ivan Oelrich and Hans M. Kristensen Only one week before Barack Obama is expected to win the presidential election, Defense Secretary Robert Gates made one last pitch for the Bush administration’s nuclear policy during a speech Tuesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. What is the opposite of visionary? Whatever, that’s the word […]
Sorry, can’t tell! The size of the nuclear weapons stockpile is secret, but not hard to figure out. . By Hans M. Kristensen In a letter to the editor in Boston Globe, Thomas D’Agostino, the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), writes that the United States is reducing its nuclear weapons and that, […]
By Hans M. Kristensen A report from an advisory board to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has recommended that the United States beefs up its nuclear, conventional, and space-based posture in the Pacific to counter China. The report, which was first described in the Washington Times, portrays China’s military modernization and intentions in highly dramatic […]
By Hans M. Kristensen The new nuclear policy paper National Security and Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century published quietly Tuesday by the Defense and Energy Departments embraces the “lead and hedge” strategy of the first Clinton administration for how US nuclear forces and policy should evolve in the future. Yet the “leading” is hard […]